Just A Blank Slate…..

I enjoy writing this little blog - and it's fun to check the "stats" and see that I have some "followers". But sometimes I just stare at this blank white page and nothing comes.

This past week the news has been full of big ticket items that press many of my personal buttons. I have strong opinions about recent Supreme Court decisions (like what took so long?)…..and narrow political declarations (really??? in 2015??)….and disrespectful comments and posts about our President (excuse me, just when did people become so down-right mean?)…and comments regarding use of the Confederate flag….(sorry but I think people should be embarrassed to try to justify this symbol as being of any historic value).

But I guess I'll just keep my opinions to myself today. I know how I feel, I watch as people use their faith-based biases to justify almost any statement, I know that many people seem to have no interest in actually exploring the "other side" to look for any common ground.

A short post on my Facebook page says it all: "We don't have to agree on anything to be kind to one another."

No Words…..But Just the Right Words....

I feel like I've had to send way too many condolence cards recently. Friends losing their husbands or a parent…..sometimes completely unexpectedly. Sometimes after a long life well lived. But still…..it's so hard to find the right words to express my sentiments and to acknowledge their loss.

But it's important to say something.

I saved a small pile of condolence cards I received after my mom died.....and a short time later I gathered another small pile in memory of my mother-in-law. I know, at the time, the cards and personal notes included did provide comfort. Even if it was a store-bought sentiment with just a personal signature.....I read the card. If it was a hand-written note sharing a memory or a story.....I read the note.

Some came to me from people I didn't really even know....or maybe I knew them years ago when I was a child. Some came from people who knew me but had never met my mom or mother-in-law. All came with the idea that someone recognized my loss and was thinking of me.

And those cards and notes were so appreciated....and somehow they did help just a little.

So when I get that phone call.....or that email....telling me of another loss I send the card. I think of my  acquaintance, friend or family member and recognize they now have a hole in their hearts where a loved one used to reside. The hole will eventually "shrink".....but it will always be there.

A condolence message won't change that.....but it will help. I may not have just the right words.....but I really think any words are appreciated. "I'm so sorry...." or "I am thinking of you....." or "I remember the time....."

So I take a little time....and I send the words.

Never Enough….

I never get tired of looking up at clouds. Remember when we were kids and we'd lie on our backs in the grass with a friend….pointing up at the shapes you'd see overhead. It was different every time you looked up. Wait a few minutes, look up again, all new shapes.

Beautiful, natural, amazing, curious, huge…..

Then again, don't forget to look down….there could be something amazing right at your feet!

Letting My Imagination Picture A Story…..

Driving along the road you sometimes spot a broken down barnor a weather beaten frame house. Sometimes there is evidence of a family who used to live there, old farm equipment, a car on blocks, bent swing set or faded curtains in the windows.

Sometimes there is nothing except the structure and the surrounding land. And the quiet. And I wonder….who used to live there and when? Was it a family? Was it a young couple? Was it a lonely widow? When was it occupied? How long has the house been alone? How much longer will it stand?

Maybe it was a farm family who moved on to a bigger place and more fortunate circumstances. Maybe, on the other hand, it was a family driven out by drought or failing crops or disease. It's kind of a soap opera in my head.

Every time we pass one of these small, old homes I wonder…..who?

So I Wish I Hadn't Seen Her……

We sold our sailboat, Connemara, last fall. It was not an easy decision, especially after Dave spent literally hundreds of hours over three years making her beautiful and ready-to-cruise. But for several reasons it was time. And she sold within a week.

She spent the winter in storage not far from our condo….but she was someone else's responsibility.

We just got back from our lomg road trip to find the new owners launched her while we were gone and she was in a temporary slip right outside the condo. And her new name was Sparrow. She looked so pretty bobbing next to the dock.

This morning I walked Fenway uptown, she was no longer in the slip. So I thought "good…she's off on an adventure". Rounding the corner I saw her - dingy in tow - just leaving the harbor. I will have to say it was a difficult moment. Watching her move through the water, and remembering the sound of the little dink following behind reminded me of just how much we loved our sailing adventure. How much we loved sleeping at anchor, how much we loved moving slowly from anchorange to anchorage on our bigger Connemara. Reminded me just how lucky we were to ever have that experience.

I'm glad Dave wasn't with me to see her go. It was a lump-in-the-throat-for-a-minute-moment. I hope her new owners have as much fun on their adventure….Sparrow seems ready to spread her wings and go!

Yes, I wish I hadn't seen her this morning…..with a perfect wind moving over a sparkling Lake Michigan. But then again…..you can't sail to Yellowstone.

Welcome Home ….. a Rude Awakening

Well we are home……thousands of miles on the Roadtrek and a great adventure through western states. Eight loads of laundry today plus a trip to the grocery store.

Dave went to the post office and came back with a big box of mail - mostly "junk" but also bills and two interesting letters from The State of Wisconsin, Circuit Court, Ozaukee County addressed to me.

Letter #1 - no date, indicated that it was an "official notice that you have been selected to serve as a juror in the Ozaukee County Circuit Court." My term of service was to be the month of July and a survey was enclosed - I needed to fill it out and return to the Clerk of Circuit Court within 10 days.

Letter #2 - again, no date, indicatecd that "The Court being advised that a juror qualification form was mailed to the above named prospective juror and said prospective juror having failed to return the completed form within the prescribed time; NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the above named Linnea Woodard appear before the

Circuit Court of Ozaukee County, Wisconsin

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 3:30 p.m.

In Room 211 of the Justice Center

1201 S. Spring Street, Port Washington, Wisconsin 53074

To Show Cause why the Court should not impose the sanctions provided by Wisconsin Statutes 756.30 which basically states that Wisconsin can fine me $500.00 for not returning my first survey in a timely fashion.

Sheesh……let's go traveling again….or not open the mail when we get home….and certainly don't answer the knock on the front door!

One.....Two.....Three....Friendship?

Dave, Fenway and I just spent three nights camping under the stars outside Red Lodge, Montana. We slept all night to the sound of water rushing over rocks in the stream next to our site. We woke in the morning to a view of the Bear Tooth Mountains towering overhead.

This was a gathering of Roadtrek owners interested in photography. We built these three days into our western itinerary for this adventure. It was our first Roadtrek gathering....and it was a very nice way to end this latest western exploration. We met some very nice people!

Granted.....you start the gathering knowing that you will have certain things in common. You own a small RV. You enjoy the lifestyle.....taking off with all your "stuff" with you so you don't have to go in and out of hotels.....stopping when you want to and staying as long as you want. And at least one of the people in your RV enjoys photography.

But sometimes there seems to be an almost "instant connection" with certain couples....an easy conversation after the RV and photo talk. A recognition that you would enjoy spending more time with these people. A feeling that a long-term friendship could result. Except here you are.....three days in Montana...and then off you go in different directions. You live in different areas of the country.....but you hope paths will cross in the future.

This is what happened to us in Red Lodge, Montana. Lots of very nice and interesting people from all over the USA. But two sort of special connections. You know who you are South Carolina and Virginia!

Hope to see you in 2016!

Morning Coffee.....

When you spend time living in a really small space you have to come up with creative solutions for storage and how to use your space. Our little RV is about 22' long......but the first three or four feet are taken up by the driver and passenger seats. So the living space is pretty compact. We do have lots of little storage areas and experience shows us what fits well and where.

We have a small microwave. I use it to store my one pot holder, my one saucepan with its cover, a collapsible rubber mixing/serving bowl, a small collapsible colander and sometime two empty Tupperware type containers (when they aren't holding leftovers in the small refrigerator.)

So.....if we are at a site with electricity and I want my morning coffee, here's how it goes.

1. Open microwave and pick up any storage lids that fell on the floor. Take everything else out of the microwave and put the items at the end of my bed.
2. Take the jug of drinking water out of the lower shelf it its cupboard.
3. Take my coffee mug out of its shelf and fill with water.
4. Put the water jug away because it's big and takes up too much room on the "kitchen" counter.
5. Start the microwave and heat the water for three minutes.
6. Meanwhile open the coffee storage area, take out an individual paper coffee filter and fit it into the little top-of-the-cup thing.
7. Open the bag of coffee and put two tablespoons of ground coffee into the filter.
8. Re-close coffee bag and put back in storage.
9. Take cup of hot water out of microwave and pour into saucepan retrieved from end of the bed.
10. Put black top-of-the-cup-filter-holder thing on top of the cup and slowly pour hot water in so it can drip through the coffee.
11. Once all the water drips through toss individual filter in the trash. Rinse out the black thingy and put away.
12. Put pot holder etc. back in microwave.
12. Drink coffee.

Seems like a lot of work. Do I really want another cup? Hmmmmm......sitting here looking at Montana mountains it doesn't really seem like too much effort. Yep....time for another cup of morning coffee.

Opening and Shutting Windows.....

We spent a number of years living in the Mid-Atlantic states. New Jersey and Delaware. They had four definite seasons, but winters were certainly milder than where we are now in Wisconsin and we so enjoyed the long, long springs! Flowering dogwood, azaleas everywhere, lilac, magnolia.....all lasted for weeks and weeks starting in mid-March.

In Wisconsin we like to joke that spring comes on a Wednesday.

But I've never seen weather change as fast as out here in the mountains of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. We will have beautiful blue skies and full sun, an hour later we are agog looking at the gorgeous puffy white clouds piling up around us. Then we notice dark grey shapes creeping over a nearby peak and hear thunder in the distance. Sometimes rain passes us by, other times the wind kicks in fast and rain dumps right on top of us.....gone in fifteen minutes. Sometimes it's a sun shower, twice we've enjoyed the sound of hail pounding on the roof of the RV. Sort of like being inside a tin can....five minutes later....gone. Wind comes out of no where and just as quickly stops and all is still.

No wonder we are advised to dress in layers. And we spend a lot of time opening and then shutting all the windows in our little home-on-wheels.

Travel....never a dull moment. I'm going outside while the sun is shining.